Hi There,
New to the sailnet community, seeking your sage advice and colored commentary on boat options for the pacific northwest.
I live in Seattle, currently charter regularly through a local club. I've sailed since I was a youngster, and in the seattle area since moving here, going on 7 years. In the past couple of years have started doing more cruising both here and the caribbean, california and I have had a shift in perspective on boat ownership (though I did own a hobie 16 for a while). Also helping this along is that my girlfriend loves to sail too
Cruising goals - for the short term weekends and week long trips, within the sound, san juans. In the future maybe a longer trip in the future up to AK or down the coast.
Crew - Me and my girlfriend, in good shape. I'm 6'2, so I need something with headroom.
I'm looking for advice specifically on the right type of both for the northwest, and more generally on used boats in my range. I'm targeting a budget of $30,000/year for the total cost. This includes loan, insurance, moorage, taxes, maintenance, tax benefits. That puts me somewhere like $220-$275k for boat price. Ideally I'd love something that fit my cruising goals and was way under budget, so part of this is figuring out the right point. I'll be financing, with either 10% or 20% down depending on what makes sense.
I'm looking for a higher SA/D monohull >= 40', able to sail shorthanded, with good windward performance. I've had a bias towards newer boats, but I would really like to learn more about what would be involved on an older boat.
I've been looking since February, and I thought the right boat for me was a new Hanse 400. The local dealer (in Vancouver BC) does a lot of volume, so it seems a popular boat up here.
I'm taking a step back from that choice though, after really thinking about how an aft cockpit will work in year round sailing. It's easy to forget with the nice weather we've been having lately, but it's freezing cold here a lot of the time and I usually put the autopilot on and hide under the dodger. From the boats in the marinas it seems a lot of people are fair weather sailors, but we want to be able to go out year round, otherwise we should just stick to chartering.
I've seen some nice center cockpit designs sail by with people looky comfy inside, that I don't recognize. I'm wondering if there isn't an older CC out there that could make me really happy.
I've sailed a Catalina 42 in the san juans over thanksgiving. It had a huge full bimini top/dodger, and it did not keep the wind off well enough.. I'd love to be able to do that trip in comfort.
So I'm not convinced just putting a load of canvas and plastic on the back of an aft cockpit is going to work. What do you all think? Suck it up and get thicker gloves and a ski mask? An Amel?
Alternative boats I'm trying to research: Hylas 44, 45.5, 51, Tayana 48, 52,55, Moody 40,44. HR is overkill and too spendy. I have negative feelings towards Hunter & Catalina.
New to the sailnet community, seeking your sage advice and colored commentary on boat options for the pacific northwest.
I live in Seattle, currently charter regularly through a local club. I've sailed since I was a youngster, and in the seattle area since moving here, going on 7 years. In the past couple of years have started doing more cruising both here and the caribbean, california and I have had a shift in perspective on boat ownership (though I did own a hobie 16 for a while). Also helping this along is that my girlfriend loves to sail too
Cruising goals - for the short term weekends and week long trips, within the sound, san juans. In the future maybe a longer trip in the future up to AK or down the coast.
Crew - Me and my girlfriend, in good shape. I'm 6'2, so I need something with headroom.
I'm looking for advice specifically on the right type of both for the northwest, and more generally on used boats in my range. I'm targeting a budget of $30,000/year for the total cost. This includes loan, insurance, moorage, taxes, maintenance, tax benefits. That puts me somewhere like $220-$275k for boat price. Ideally I'd love something that fit my cruising goals and was way under budget, so part of this is figuring out the right point. I'll be financing, with either 10% or 20% down depending on what makes sense.
I'm looking for a higher SA/D monohull >= 40', able to sail shorthanded, with good windward performance. I've had a bias towards newer boats, but I would really like to learn more about what would be involved on an older boat.
I've been looking since February, and I thought the right boat for me was a new Hanse 400. The local dealer (in Vancouver BC) does a lot of volume, so it seems a popular boat up here.
I'm taking a step back from that choice though, after really thinking about how an aft cockpit will work in year round sailing. It's easy to forget with the nice weather we've been having lately, but it's freezing cold here a lot of the time and I usually put the autopilot on and hide under the dodger. From the boats in the marinas it seems a lot of people are fair weather sailors, but we want to be able to go out year round, otherwise we should just stick to chartering.
I've seen some nice center cockpit designs sail by with people looky comfy inside, that I don't recognize. I'm wondering if there isn't an older CC out there that could make me really happy.
I've sailed a Catalina 42 in the san juans over thanksgiving. It had a huge full bimini top/dodger, and it did not keep the wind off well enough.. I'd love to be able to do that trip in comfort.
So I'm not convinced just putting a load of canvas and plastic on the back of an aft cockpit is going to work. What do you all think? Suck it up and get thicker gloves and a ski mask? An Amel?
Alternative boats I'm trying to research: Hylas 44, 45.5, 51, Tayana 48, 52,55, Moody 40,44. HR is overkill and too spendy. I have negative feelings towards Hunter & Catalina.